Star Trek, The Muppets and The Simpsons did it. More recently, Jackass, Sex and the City and even Entourage have done it.
But the question now is: will Game of Thrones take the leap onto the big screen
Novelist George R.R. Martin – the man behind the books on which the hit TV series is based – says a film treatment for the hit HBO series, potentially as a concluding chapter, is on the table and being discussed.
“It all depends on how long the main series runs,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Do we run for seven years Do we run for eight Do we run for 10”
Martin said the scale of the story has increased with each subsequent book, and that a feature film – and a feature film budget – might be required to bring the story to a close.
“It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours,” he said. “Those dragons get real big, you know.”
Martin was speaking after the fourth season premiere, a gala red carpet event held in New York at the iconic Lincoln Center.
He was joined at the event by HBO executives, and the show’s cast, including Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Jack Gleeson, Aiden Gillen, Peter Dinklage and John Bradley, and one of those “real big” dragons, granted it was only a replica, on the red carpet.
Martin also said a film adaptation of his Tales of Dunk and Egg cycle, a defacto “prequel” to game of Thrones, was also being discussed.
Three books in that series, which is set in the fictional world of Westeros, where Game of Thrones is set, have been published: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight.
Despite the crescendo of media attention at the New York premiere, details of the fourth season were few and far between.
Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark in the series, said fan opinion of some of the characters would “change this season”.
“You’re going to see a lot from the women, which I am so excited about, and I think the audience should be excited about that too,” Williams said.
Martin attributed the series success to the fact that it was a “fantasy for adults, and it’s really one of the first on television, where you can get that wonderful sense of wonder that you get from the best fantasy, and you never know what can happen”.
Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, said on the red carpet that her character’s relationships with dragons gets “a little turbulent” this season.
Dinklage described his character, Tyrion Lannister, as “a good guy that does bad things”.
And Gleeson, who plays King Joffrey, said his character was, deep down, a good guy. “You don’t see the scenes where he visits the orphanage and feeds the puppies. It’s all in the editing,” Gleeson said.
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The premiere episode of the fourth season was screened at the event, in the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center.
The after-party was held at the American Museum of Natural History.
The fourth season of Game of Thrones launches in the US on April 6.
– FFX Aus
